SPRINGFIELD - Putnam City coach A.D. Burtschi is a humble guy, but also someone who relishes a challenge.

Calling the Pirates' opponent in the Hoophall Classic, St. Anthony, a "national powerhouse," and the New Jersey school's coach, Bob Hurley, "legendary," Burtschi is excited for the tournament task at hand.

"We are honored for the opportunity and we think it's a tremendous challenge, but we want to see how we stack up," said Burtschi. "Whenever you get that opportunity, you have to make the most of it. And that's what we plan to do."

Oklahoma's Putnam City will face the St. Anthony Friars at the Hoophall Classic Monday, Jan. 19 at 10:00 a.m.

Indeed, Burtschi's assessment is not far off. Hurley has amassed over 900 wins in his 36-year career, and has guided the school to 23 of its 25 state titles. In addition, the Friars have won three mythical "national titles," including one last year spearheaded by an undefeated 32-0 season.

Unsurprisingly, Hurley has forgotten previous success and is focused on the current team.

"That was last year, and this is this year," said Hurley. "We were only behind once last year in the second half, for only one possession. We're 9-1 this year (as of Jan. 8) and we've won games, but with nowhere near the efficiency level."

Hurley's biggest goal against the Pirates will be slowing down Xavier Henry, the No. 1 ranked player in the country according to many ratings, including ESPNU.

The Memphis-bound Henry is a 6-6 shooting guard with a varied skill-set to dominate both inside and outside.

A broken cheek bone from an October car accident, though, sidelined the Pirate star until late December.

Since returning, Burtschi has seen the same Henry and the effect 'X' (as Coach calls him) has on practice.

"Certain types of players don't need too much," said Burtschi. "Certainly conditioning will be a factor, and that will take time, but when you have that great touch and you play at a very high level, you have great pride in yourself and you hold yourself more accountable."

"The moment he came back to practice, our practices improved. Truly he's our best player and also our hardest-working player. He raises the level of everybody and everyone wants to get on board."

With Henry out, and other contributors battling injuries and illnesses, Putnam City saw the forced development of some younger players on the way to a 6-3 record (as of Jan. 6).

"We had to make some adjustments based on personnel and dip down to some younger players who held the fort," indicated Burtschi. "But everyone's back in the fold now and we're optimistic that as time goes on we'll get better, and obviously our bench will be stronger."

Hurley's Friars are also somewhat just coming together. Before the trip to Springfield, three players will become eligible, including 6-6 junior power player Derek Williams and 6-8 junior Devon Collier, who will provide an injection of size and physicality.

"Normally we're a fast team led by guards and we play the pressure man-to-man defense," said Hurley. "We're not able to do those same things and we're slower on offense, but we can mix up defenses with this big team."

That's not to say that St. Anthony doesn't have good guard play. Dominic Cheek, the No. 3 shooting guard in the country according to Scout.com and Rivals.com, is a versatile 6-6 guard who just recently committed to Villanova.

Hurley has led a number of teams north for the Hoophall, and will again take his team through the Hall of Fame.

"Most high school coaches lament that their kids are not the sports historians that they should be," said Hurley. "We'll go in and have a discussion about how the game has evolved."

Burtschi, on the other hand, was noticeably excited about his team's - and his own - first trip to the Birthplace of Basketball.

"I wouldn't care if we got no games," maintained Burtschi, "that's holy ground. To be able to stand in the presence of all that, to go in there and take our time, it's a privilege I can't describe and we are so looking forward to it."

In addition to playing and visiting the Hall, Hurley has another task for the weekend - his son, Danny Hurley, is the coach at St. Benedict's and plays directly after the elder Hurley on Monday.

"It's exciting," said the father. "Luckily we play first so I can finish the torment and watch Danny suffer afterwards."